Gridiron Legends of Stark County, Presented by the Pro Football Hall of Fame

It all started on September 17, 1920, when a group of men gathered in Canton, Ohio, to discuss the feasibility of creating a professional football league. The result of that meeting was the birth of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), later renamed the National Football League in 1922. In our exhibit Gridiron Legends of Stark County, we focus on the history of football in our area through objects (such as footballs, jerseys, and even socks!) and images. In the image pictured here, Marion Motley is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Motley played for Canton Mckinley High School’s football team from 1937 – 1938 and was the first player from Canton to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Stark County is rich with the history of football, and it could even be said that football wouldn’t be what it is today without Stark County. We are proud to exhibit and celebrate that history here at the Canton Museum of Art.

On view August 1, 2017 - October 29, 2017